Call of Duty: Black Ops II gets in-game Twitch streaming

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A major breakthrough has just been confirmed by video game streaming startup Twitch. The service, which allows users to upload live streams of their gameplay sessions, is now fully integrated with the Xbox 360 version of Call of Duty: Black Ops II. This means gamers can sync their Twitch account to their game without needing any sort of external video capture equipment or PC hardware.

Currently, to stream your video game footage to Twitch you need to buy extra equipment and you also need to have the technical knowhow to wire a direct feed of your gameplay to a computer. This frictional setup process means that only the most hardcore gamers are taking advantage of the streaming platform.

That isn’t necessarily a terrible thing, since Twitch mostly revolves around the individual users, who tune in for no other reason than to watch the best of the best play through their favorite games. It’s like toggling through all the different ESPN channels, except here you’re watching people with real skill (I kid, I kid).

Now, however, there is a completely frictionless way to upload your gameplay content, provided the game you’re playing is Black Ops II. It is already one of the most popular titles on Twitch, and this will just catapult its popularity and accessibility on the site. All users need to do is link to their Twitch account from within the game, and the live streaming process can begin. The game already offered a similar connectivity option for YouTube; this new Twitch option functions very similarly.

So if you want to watch your buddy’s progress while you’re stuck at the office, no problem. If you think you’re a Call of Duty god, you can finally prove it to the world even if your PC is nowhere near your Xbox 360 . You can even add your Kinect video camera feed to the video so everyone watching knows that it’s really you. And just to get the word out about how awesome it is to watch you play the game, integration with Facebook and Twitter is built in as well.

This is a huge milestone for Twitch, and will hopefully lead to built-in integrations with future games right off the bat.